World | South Korea N. Korea to Shut Border With South Pyongyang angered by South Korean government's actions By Nick McMaster Posted Nov 12, 2008 1:45 PM CST Copied A South Korean tourist uses binoculars to look at the Diamond Mountain in North Korea from the Unification Observation post in Goseong, east of Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Nov.12, 2008. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) North Korea says it will cut access to South Korea on Dec. 1, by closing the border and severing the sole civilian phone link between the two nations, the BBC reports. The North has grown increasingly hostile to the South since it elected President Lee Myung-bak, who promised to “get tough” with Pyongyang. His government co-sponsored a UN resolution criticizing North Korea’s human rights record. "It is really appalling that the puppet regime is taking a leading role in the racket of a so-called UN resolution on human rights in the North," said a statement from the North Korean government. "The South Korean puppet authorities should never forget that the present inter-Korean relations are at the crucial crossroads of existence and total severance." Read These Next Defense officials react to Hegseth's Quantico meeting. Government shutdown is here. Here's what to expect. Colorado wants to give 'peace of mind' on Hunter S. Thompson. President asks nation's top generals to loosen up. Report an error